Cheshire East to bid for Tour of Britain cycle race

Cheshire East Council is to bid for the country's number one cycling event to be staged in the Borough.

Each year, local authorities are given the opportunity to put a compelling bid together to showcase what they have to offer in order to attract the UK's biggest free-to-attend sporting event.

The decision to back the bid and allocate up to £250,000 from earmarked reserves, to underwrite the cost of attracting, hosting and delivering the cycle tour, was made at the Cabinet on Tuesday, 10th November,

It's projected that the Aviva Tour of Britain Cycle Race could generate up to £5m for the local economy, if the Council is crowned a successful host.

Council Leader Michael Jones backed the bid and said it would be a "fantastic way" to market Cheshire as a tourist destination.

He said: "Not only that, it will hopefully inspire residents to get more involved in cycling initiatives across the Borough.

"We have some of the best cycle routes in the country with stunning scenery and it's this sort of family activity that adds to the health and wellbeing of communities – and that's something this Council is committed to.

"It will also be a key driver for tourism, which is already worth £807m to the Cheshire East economy and would help attract even more high-profile national events in the future."

The Council intends to make sponsorship and promotional opportunities available to local businesses to off-set the cost of hosting the event.

If the bid is approved it is hoped to attract the Aviva Tour of Britain in September 2016, although there may also be potential to consider 2017 if this is not feasible.

Comments

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DELETED ACCOUNT

Wednesday 11th November 2015 at 1:32 pm

Another £250000 lost to add to - money lost re Lyme Green, money lost re failed Local Plan. Meanwhile, Cheshire East pays three staff more than £150,000 per annum in salary.

Terry Roeves

Wednesday 11th November 2015 at 4:22 pm

Going to take a great deal of cooperation with other Councils to present an integrated route. Yorkshire and the East Coast has the track record.
I hope we get it, but £250k is ridiculous. It's a British event, not the World Cup. Get a grant.